Although 11 months have elapsed since the Department of Energy awarded a new $5.9-billion environmental cleanup contract at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, DOE’s cleanup office still isn’t saying when the new contractor will take over from Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth.
In an email reply Monday to Exchange Monitor, a DOE spokesperson declined to say when Southern Ohio Cleanup Co., a team of Amentum, Fluor and Cavendish Nuclear USA, might take the reins at Portsmouth. So far, DOE plans to keep Fluor-BWXT in place through September. DOE announced the Southern Ohio contract award in July 2023.
DOE also plans to extend Mid-America Conversion Services, made up of Atkins, Westinghouse and Fluor, through September. The team runs the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) plants at Portsmouth and Paducah. The new Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Operations and Site Mission Support contract would include the DUF6 work — as well as some work now under the Fluor-BWXT contract at Portsmouth.
As a result, the transition for Southern Ohio is intertwined with the long-anticipated award of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Operations and Site Mission Support contract. The final solicitation hit the street in May 2022. DOE has asked contractors to refresh their bids more than once since then.
The DOE spokesperson said Monday the department still plans to transition both contracts to the new teams at the same time.
